AN – Here's the fifth story! I hope you enjoy!
First Impression
When Link had been told that he was to meet with Princess Zelda, he'd been apprehensive to say the least.
Despite the urgency of the situation and Navi's reassurances, dozens of questions went through his mind. What was she like? Was she a stuck-up princess or a kind one? Would she actually believe him if he were to somehow get an audience from her? How would he even reach her?
After two long days of travelling across Hyrule Field and fending off the Stalchildren that enjoyed harassing him at night, he finally made it into Castle Town.
And it was already an incredibly different environment compared to what he was used to. It was noisy, crowded and there were very few trees around.
It was rather overwhelming, to say the least.
Thankfully, his fairy companion Navi was there to help keep him on track.
"Come on, Link! We have to meet the princess!"
A small part of him wanted to explore but he knew that he shouldn't waste too much time. After stocking up on supplies, he eventually made it to Hyrule Castle and was then forced to sneak around the guards, as he couldn't get anywhere near the front gate without being escorted away.
It was both confusing and anxiety inducing, since he didn't always know where he was supposed to go.
It took a couple of hours but finally, he arrived in the courtyard…
…and he saw the princess.
She hadn't noticed him yet, intensely gazing through window. Feeling anxious, as he had no idea what he should do or say, he quietly asked Navi, "So… what should I do?"
"Introduce yourself to her! That's the best course of action! And stop worrying so much! The Great Deku Tree knew what he was doing when he sent us here!"
He swallowed his nerves, took a deep breath and then cautiously approached her, hoping this encounter would go as smoothly as Navi said.
Once he'd reached the steps, he stopped, uncertain how he should get her attention.
That turned out to be unnecessary, though, as she heard him approach and turned around with a gasp.
"Who are you? How did you get past my guards?!"
And almost immediately, Link was struck speechless.
She was around the same age as him and she was very pretty. Sure, Saria and that strange red-haired girl Malon were pretty too, but this was the first time he'd really noticed that about someone.
She had a regal beauty to her that he'd never seen in someone before. It made sense, seeing as how she was a princess and all. But still, he was awestruck.
"Psst! Link!" He heard whispering from his hat, causing him to remember where he was and almost all at once, that anxiety came flooding back. He swallowed an uncertain lump in his throat.
"Um… M-My name is Link, your Highness. I was instructed to come and meet with you by the Great Deku Tree."
"Great… Deku Tree? I've only heard mentions of him in passing. Isn't he the guardian spirit of the Kokiri Forest?"
Link nodded.
"And by any chance… do you happen to have the Kokiri's Emerald, as well as a blue guardian fairy?"
He nodded again as Navi poked her head out from under his hat to wave and then he showed her the emerald before safely stowing it away again.
"I knew it!" She happily exclaimed.
"Erm… knew what?" Link asked, feeling confused.
"Oh, I apologize. I'm getting ahead of myself!"
She then went on to explain about the prophetic dreams she'd been having lately, and how everyone had been dismissive of her thus far, even her own father!
She then showed him a dark-skinned man dressed all in black through the window she'd been looking through. At first glance, he appeared to be swearing allegiance to her father. However, as soon as Link got a good look at this man, he suddenly realized that this man was the very same figure haunting Link's nightmares!
Zelda wasn't the only one having prophetic dreams, it seems…
"I'm certain he's up to no good!" Zelda finished, looking distressed. "But no one listens to me when I try to explain this to them!"
She then looked at him and asked, "But you believe me right?"
Link didn't even hesitate in nodding. "Of course."
Zelda grinned, overjoyed. "Oh, thank you so much!"
Link smiled back as she continued with, "For now, we need to keep Ganondorf from getting into the Sacred Realm and stealing the Triforce. And to do that, we need the spiritual stones from the Goron Tribe and the Zora Tribe next.
She then gave him a piece of paper to show the guard in Kakariko Village in order to ascend the mountain.
"I won't be able to join you, unfortunately, but I'll gather up as much information as I can to help!"
"Thank you, Princess."
"Please, just call me Zelda." She smiled at him, making his heart do flips.
"A-Alright…"
She giggled before saying that her Sheikah attendant, Impa, would help him out of the castle.
He nodded and then stepped away.
Once he did, Navi appeared in front of him, giggling. "See? I told you it would go well!"
Link smiled at her. "Yeah. Thanks."
She then got a mischievous look on her face. "You like her, don't you?"
"W-What?"
"Oh come on! You were totally spellbound back there! She was pretty, wasn't she?"
"N-Navi!"
She just giggled and hid underneath his hat again before he shook his head, blushing before going over to Impa, who was standing in the corner.
Hopefully she hadn't heard all of that…
AN – lol poor Link.
Anyways, I hope you enjoyed and see you tomorrow!